rural health

Wyoming’s first-year award will help sustain critical care access hospitals and labor and delivery services. Workforce development, chronic disease prevention, behavioral health, and innovative approaches to delivering care and handling payments will also be supported.

Premiums in Mountain West states among the highest

The state hopes to use federal Rural Health Transformation Program dollars to help recruit and retain more healthcare professionals. WWAMI’s TRUST training program could help.

The proposal includes creating financial incentives for critical access hospitals to have emergency and labor and delivery departments, expanding on behavioral telehealth and creating healthcare workforce scholarships, among others.

The state’s priorities include improving access to care, building up its health workforce, and using technology to improve chronic disease management and bring care closer to home.

The Wyoming Department of Health is going around the state asking for input on how to spend its share of the Rural Health Transformation Program.

This comes as the number of rural hospitals and OB/GYNs delivering babies is dwindling.

The grant from the Helmsley Charitable Trust funds Virtual Crisis Care, a new program connecting Wyoming law enforcement officers with licensed mental health professionals in real time.

Idaho and Wyoming are investing in education programs so these physicians can do higher risk baby deliveries.

A new study found that rural residents are more likely to have preexisting health conditions that make them sensitive to heat, like asthma or heart disease.